The Ohio State football team sings Carmen Ohio after the game while Texas celebrates in the background. Ohio State lost to Texas 24-23 on Sept. 12. Credit: Cassandra D’Angelo | Sports Photo Editor.
Two turnovers, a dropped touchdown and a failed fourth-down conversion.?
In the first half, No. 4 Texas looked determined to give the game away.
Instead, No. 1 Ohio State did.
The Buckeyes led 20-3 after 30 minutes of play and built a 20-point lead in the second half, but Texas stormed back as Ohio State’s offense stalled.
The Longhorns’ comeback was completed when Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin’s final heave was intercepted, sending the Texas sidelines into jubilation and handing Ohio State a 24-23 loss.
“We had them on the ropes and didn’t catch them,” head coach Ryan Day said. “So we have to go back and figure out why that was.”
In the first half, all the signs pointed to the Buckeyes romping to an easy win.?
Texas fumbled on the first play of the game caused and recovered by freshman cornerback Jay Timmons, threw an interception on the next drive caught by safety Jaylen McClain and dropped three passes, including a likely touchdown.
Ohio State appeared firmly in control behind 278 passing yards from quarterback Julian Sayin and 164 receiving yards from Jeremiah Smith.?
But when Texas quarterback Arch Manning connected with Ryan Wingo for a 3-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the momentum began to shift.?
Texas added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, both on 1-yard rushes by running back Hollywood Smothers.
In the second half, Ohio State was held scoreless on five of its six drives and missed a field goal that would’ve put the Buckeyes ahead by nine points with 4:16 remaining on the clock.?
Sayin said the issues in connection during the second half, begin with him and finishing in the final moments is crucial.
“[We] didn’t execute the way we can, the way we need to, in the fourth quarter there,” Sayin said. “It starts with me, and then the entire offense as a whole we have to do better.”
Center Carson Hinzman said despite the finish, the loss does not change what Ohio State can accomplish this season.
“Everything we got is still in our forefront, still in our big picture,” Hinzman said. “We can still do everything we plan on doing this year, and so for us to continue, [we have] to go back to the drawing board.”
